UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - The No. 4 UConn men’s basketball team used a decisive second half run to secure a 71-52 victory over Boston College on Monday night in the Hall of Fame Exhibition at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Alex Karaban led the Huskies with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the triumph.
Connecticut turned in a stout defensive performance in the preseason victory, forcing 20 turnovers and holding BC to 31.9 percent shooting from the field.
Joining Karaban atop the scoring column for the Huskies were Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins who each finished with 12 points.
Malachi Smith led UConn’s 20-assist effort with five dimes to go along with seven points, while Eric Reibe notched eight points and six rebounds.
For the Eagles, Donald Hand Jr. led all players with 23 points and snared a team-high seven rebounds.
The Huskies were the aggressor from the jump, scoring the game’s first basket and forcing six BC turnovers in the first six minutes of action. A second-chance 3-pointer from Smith at 14:35 of the first preceded a fast break Jaylin Stewart dunk, and a driving lay-in from Ball at 12:52 made it 12-6.
Back-to-back buckets from Karaban pushed the advantage to double-digits for the first and prompted a Boston College timeout with 8:39 to go in the first and UConn holding a 21-10 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ball and Karaban pushed the lead to its largest of the first half at 32-16 with 3:40 on the timer.
A late 9-0 spurt for BC slimmed the halftime deficit back within 10 and UConn took a 35-27 advantage to the break. Connecticut was able to build its edge despite an ice-cold shooting start, going 5-of-21 from 3-point range in the opening stanza.
The Eagles opened the second half on an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the day at 38-37 five minutes into the frame. At 11:59 of the second UConn retook the lead with a put-back lay-in from Dwayne Koroma before a Karaban 3-pointer ahead of a timeout at 11:24 with UConn up 44-40.
Those buckets were part of a 13-0 UConn run over four minutes of game time, flipping a three-point deficit to a 50-40 lead midway through the half. At 6:58 of the second stanza Reibe connected on a 3-point play to make it a 20-3 run and push the lead to 55-43. Karaban drilled a 3-pointer a minute later to give UConn its largest lead of the frame at 60-45 with 5:30 remaining. From there all that was left to decide was the final margin, which hit 19 after five-straight points from Mullins via a 3-pointer and dunk in the final minute of regulation.
The Huskies have one more exhibition before lifting the lid on the 2025-26 regular season. UConn will take on Michigan State for a 7:30 p.m. showdown at PeoplesBank Arena on Oct. 28.